Gate structure and method of fabricating the same

ABSTRACT

A gate structure includes at least one spacer defining a gate region over a semiconductor substrate, a gate dielectric layer disposed on the gate region over the semiconductor substrate, a first work function metal layer disposed over the gate dielectric layer and lining a bottom surface of an inner sidewall of the spacer, and a filling metal partially wrapped by the first work function metal layer. The filling metal includes a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion is between the second portion and the semiconductor substrate, and the second portion is wider than the first portion.

PRIORITY CLAIM AND CROSS-REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of and claims priority of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 16/901,314, titled “GATE STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME” and filed on Jun. 15, 2020, which claims priority of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 16/429,616, titled “GATE STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME” and filed on Jun. 3, 2019, which claims priority of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 16/015,392, titled “GATE STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME” and filed on Jun. 22, 2018, which claims priority of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 15/293,259, titled “GATE STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME” and filed on Oct. 13, 2016, which claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/261,201, titled “APPROACH OF MG PULL BACK FOR MG MISSING” and filed on Nov. 30, 2015. U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 16/901,314, U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 16/429,616, U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 16/015,392, U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 15/293,259, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/261,201 are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

As technology nodes shrink, in some integrated circuit designs, replacing the polysilicon gate electrode with a metal gate electrode can improve device performance with the decreased feature sizes. Providing metal gate structures (e.g., including a metal gate electrode rather than polysilicon) offers one solution. One process of forming a metal gate stack is termed a “gate last” process in which the final gate stack is fabricated “last” which allows for a reduced number of subsequent processes, including high temperature processing, that are performed before formation of the gate stack. Additionally, as the dimensions of transistors decrease, the thickness of the gate oxide may be reduced to maintain performance with the decreased gate length. In order to reduce gate leakage, high dielectric constant (high-k or HK) gate insulator layers are also used which allows to maintain the same effective thickness as would be provided by a typical gate oxide used in larger technology nodes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is noted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method of fabricating a gate structure in accordance with some embodiments of the instant disclosure;

FIGS. 2 to 19 are cross-sectional views of a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device at various stages in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 20 and 21 are zoom in view of dashed-line circles in FIG. 17 respectively; and

FIG. 22 illustrates the cross-sectional view of an intermediate stage in the formation of a high-k metal gate stack in accordance with some embodiments of the instant disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the provided subject matter. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed between the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method 100 of fabricating a gate structure in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the instant disclosure. The method begins with operation 101 in which a dummy gate layer stack is formed on a semiconductor substrate of a wafer. The method continues with operation 103 in which vertical dummy gate stacks are formed by patterning the dummy gate layer stack. Subsequently, operation 105, lightly-doped drain and source (LDD) regions are formed in the semiconductor substrate. The method continues with operation 107 in which spacers are formed adjacent to the dummy gate stack. The method continues with operation 109 in which source and drain regions are formed in the semiconductor substrate. The method continues with operation 111 in which an inter-level dielectric (ILD) layer around the spacers. Next, operation 113, the dummy gate stacks are removed to form recesses. The method continues with operation 115 in which work function metal layers are deposited in the recesses. Following that, operation 117, a first portion of the work function metal layers from the sidewalls of the recesses is removed. In operation 119, a remaining portion of the recesses is filled with a filling metal. The method continues with operation 121 in which portions of the filling metal and work function metal layer is removed. Next, in operation 123, a remaining portion of the recesses is filled with a protection layer. In operation 125, the protection layer, the spacers, and the ILD layer are planarized.

FIGS. 2 to 19 are cross-sectional views of a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device at various stages in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIGS. 2-19, the wafer 300 is a semiconductor device at an intermediate stage of manufacture. The wafer 300 includes a semiconductor substrate 301. Examples of semiconductors include silicon, silicon on insulator (SOI), Ge, SiC, GaAs, GaAlAs, InP, and GaNSiGe. The semiconductor substrate 301 may be doped of either n-type or p-type, or undoped. Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) are added to the wafer 300. These can be of the n-type, the p-type or both types in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. In some embodiments, the wafer 300 includes n-well regions, p-well regions, or both. The method shown in FIGS. 1-19 is applicable to form planar MOSFETs and/or fin field effect transistors (FinFETs). When the method shown in FIGS. 2-19 is applied to form FinFETs, the semiconductor substrate 301 includes at least one fin structure. The portion of the semiconductor substrate 301 shown in FIGS. 2-19 is a portion of the fin structure.

Reference is made to FIG. 2. An interfacial layer 303 and a high-k dielectric layer (gate dielectric) 305 are formed over the semiconductor substrate 301 (operation 101 of FIG. 1). The interfacial layer 303 is the interface between the semiconductor substrate 301 and the high-k dielectric layer (gate dielectric) 305. The interfacial layer 303 includes silicon oxide or silicon oxynitride. The interfacial layer 303 can form spontaneously as a result of wet cleans of the wafer 300 prior to the formation of the high-k dielectric layer 305 or as a result of interaction between the high-k dielectric layer 305 and the semiconductor substrate 301 during or subsequent to formation of the dielectric layer 305. Intentionally forming the interfacial layer 303 can provide a higher quality interface. The interfacial layer 303 is made very thin to minimize the interfacial layer's contribution to the overall equivalent oxide thickness of the resulting gates. In some embodiments, the thickness of the interfacial layer 303 is in a range from about 1 to about 20 Angstroms.

The interfacial layer 303 of silicon oxide can be formed by a suitable process including chemical oxidation, for example, by treating the semiconductor substrate 301 with hydrofluoric acid (HF) immediately prior to depositing the high-k dielectric layer 305. Another process for the silicon oxide interfacial layer 303 is to thermally grow the interfacial layer 303 followed by a controlled etch to provide the desired layer thickness. In some embodiments, the interfacial layer 303 can be formed after the high-k dielectric layer 305. For example, a silicon oxynitride interfacial layer can be formed by annealing a wafer with a silicon semiconductor substrate and a hafnium-based high-k dielectric layer in an atmosphere of nitric oxide. This later process has advantages such as reduced queue time.

The high-k dielectric layer 305 includes one or more layers of one or more high-k dielectric materials. High-k dielectrics are expected to have a dielectric constant, k, of at least or equal to about 4.0. Examples of high-k dielectrics include hafnium-based materials such as HfO₂, HfSiO, HfSiON, HfTaO, HfTiO, HfZrO, and HfO₂Al₂O₃ alloy. Additional examples of high-k dielectrics include ZrO₂, Ta₂O₅, Al₂O₃, Y₂O₃, La₂O₃, and SrTiO₃. In some embodiments, the high-k dielectric layer 305 has a thickness in a range from about 5 to about 50 Angstroms. The high-k dielectric layer 305 can be formed by, for example, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD).

Optionally, a capping layer may be formed over the high-k dielectric layer 305. The capping layer can protect the high-k dielectric layer 305 during subsequent processing and provide an etch stop layer for when the dummy gate material layer 307 is later removed. The capping layer can include one or more layers of materials, which may include, for example, TiN and TaN. The capping layer can be formed by a deposition process, such as CVD, ALD, or electroplating to a specified thickness.

Still referring to FIG. 2, a dummy gate material layer 307 is formed over the high-k dielectric layer 305. The dummy gate material layer 307 is made of polysilicon, although other materials can be used. The dummy gate material layer 307 can be formed by a semiconductor deposition process. For example, a polysilicon dummy gate material layer can be formed by pyrolyzing silane. After formation of the dummy gate material layer 307, a dummy gate layer stack 310 is formed on the wafer 300 as shown in FIG. 1. The dummy gate layer stack 310 includes the interfacial layer 303, the high-k dielectric layer 305 and the dummy gate material layer 307.

Reference is made to FIGS. 3-4. The dummy gate layer stack 310 is patterned to form dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b (operation 103 of FIG. 1). For forming the dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b, the patterning can be accomplished by a photolithographic process. The photolithography process includes coating the wafer 300 with a photoresist, selectively exposing the photoresist according to a desired pattern, developing the photoresist, and using the patterned photoresist as an etch mask. The patterned photoresist can be used as a mask to etch the dummy gate layer stack 310. Alternatively, the photoresist is used to pattern a hard mask layer. The hard mask layer, if used, is formed before the photoresist. The wafer 300 of FIG. 1 includes a hard mask layer 309 before patterning. The wafer 300 of FIG. 2 includes the patterned hard mask layers 309 a and 309 b. The patterned hard mask layers 309 a and 309 b are used as masks to etch the dummy gate layer stack 310. Any etch process or combination of etch processes can be used to etch the dummy gate layer stack 310.

Reference is made to FIG. 4. After patterning the dummy gate layer stack 310, the dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b are formed. The dummy gate 318 a includes the interfacial layer 303 a, the high-k dielectric layer 305 a, the dummy gate material layer 307 a, and the patterned hard mask layer 309 a. Likewise, the dummy gate 318 b includes the interfacial layer 303 b, the high-k dielectric layer 305 b, the dummy gate material layer 307 b, and the patterned hard mask layer 309 b. It should be understood that the dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b may not be adjacent to each other. For the sake of clarity and simplicity, the two dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b are put together for illustration purpose. The dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b may be separated apart by other features not shown in the figure.

A process for etching the dummy gate layer stack 310 includes a plasma etch. Reactive gases can interact with the wafer 300 during plasma etching to produce volatile by products that subsequently redeposit on nearby surfaces. This can result in the formation of an optional passivation layer (not shown) on sidewalls of the dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b respectively. The optional passivation layers can be silica or a similar material such as a silicate.

An ion implantation process is performed to form lightly doped drain (LDD) regions (operation 105 of FIG. 1). The dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b are used as masks to help control the implant profile and distribution. FIG. 5 shows the wafer 300 with the LDD regions 329 a and 329 b formed in the semiconductor substrate 301. After the ion implantation process, spacers 320 a and 320 b are formed around the dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b (operation 107 of FIG. 1). A spacer material is first deposited over the wafer 300 covering the dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b and the areas between the dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b. The spacer material is then etched back to remove the portions over the dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b and in the areas between the dummy gate stacks 318 a, 318 b. By tuning the etch process, selected portions 320 a and 320 b of the spacer material around the dummy gate stacks 318 a and 318 b remain after the etch back.

Before forming the spacers, optional spacer liners (not shown) may be formed. The spacer liners may be silica or silicate. The material of the spacer liners can be similar to the material of the passivation layers if both layers are present. The spacers 320 a and 320 b may be made of silicon nitride or another material that has the properties of conformal deposition, a large etch selectivity against the dummy gate material (harder to etch than the dummy gate material) and a passive material that can trap implanted dopants.

Still referring to FIG. 5, source/drain regions 327 a and 327 b are formed after the spacers 320 a and 320 b are formed (operation 109 of FIG. 1). The source/drain regions 327 a and 327 b are formed in the semiconductor substrate 301. In the embodiments where the dummy gate stack 318 a and/or the dummy gate 318 b is used to form a p-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (pMOS) device, the source/drain regions 327 a and/or the source/drain regions 327 b are of p-type. In the embodiments where the dummy gate stack 318 a and/or the dummy gate 318 b is used to form an n-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (nMOS) device, the source/drain regions 327 a and/or the source/drain regions 327 b are of n-type. The formation of source/drain regions 327 a and 327 b may be achieved by etching the semiconductor substrate 301 to form recesses therein, and then performing an epitaxy to grow the source/drain regions 327 a and 327 b in the recesses.

An inter-level dielectric (ILD) layer 319 is formed, as illustrated in FIG. 6 (operation 111 of FIG. 1). The ILD layer 319 adheres well to the spacers 320 a and 320 b and over the top of the hard mask layers 309 a and 309 b.

Reference is made to FIG. 7. After the ILD layer 319 is formed, an upper surface of the wafer 300 is planarized to lower the surface to the level of the dummy gate material layers 307 a and 307 b. The planarization is accomplished by, for example, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). After planarizing, the patterned hard mask layers 309 a and 309 b are removed, and the dummy gate material layers 307 a and 307 b, the spacers 320 a and 320 b, and the ILD layer 319 all approximately have the same height.

Reference is made to FIG. 8. The dummy gate material layers 307 a and 307 b are removed to form recesses 312 a and 312 b (operation 113 of FIG. 1). The dummy gate material layers 307 a and 307 b are removed in one or many etch operations including wet etch and dry etch. According to various embodiments, a hard mask is patterned over the wafer 300 to protect the ILD layer 319 and the spacers 320 a and 320 b. In some embodiments, a first etch process breaks through native oxide layers on the dummy gate material layers 307 a and 307 b, and a second etch process reduces the thickness of the dummy gate material layers 307 a and 307 b. The dummy gate material layer etch may stop at the high-k dielectric layers 305 a and 305 b or continues to the interfacial layers 303 a and 303 b or the semiconductor substrate 301 below. In other embodiments, only the dummy gate material layers 307 a and 307 b are removed. However, the etch processes may remove some surrounding material such as a portion of the spacers 320 a and 320 b. A recess 312 a is formed between the spacers 320 a, and a recess 312 b is formed between the spacers 320 b. As previously discussed, the high-k dielectric layers 305 a, 305 b may also be removed. If it is, then a high-k dielectric layer is formed in the recesses in a separate operation.

Attention is now invited to FIG. 9. A plurality of work function metal layers is deposited in the recesses 312 a and 312 b (operation 115 of FIG. 1). Two gate structures are denoted as 300 a and 300 b respectively for ease of reference. A first work function metal layer 330 is formed in the recesses 312 a and 312 b and follows the contour created by bottom surfaces and sidewalls of the recesses 312 a and 312 b and top surfaces of the spacers 320 a and 320 b and the ILD layer 319. A second work function metal layer 340 is deposited on the first work function metal layer 330 and conforms to the first work function metal layer 330. The first work function metal layer 330 is in direct contact with the high-k dielectric layers 305 a and 305 b. The second work function metal layer 340 inherits the configuration of the first work function metal layer 330.

The first and second work function metal layers 330 and 340 may include Ti, TiAl, TiAlN, TaC, TaCN, TaSiN, Mn, Zr, TiN, TaN, Ru, Mo, WN, Co, Al, or any suitable materials. For example, the first and second work function metal layers 330 and 340 include at least one of TiN, Co, WN, or TaC when at least one of the gate structures 300 a and 300 b is a portion of a PMOS device. Alternatively, the first and second work function metal layers 330 and 340 include at least one of Ti, Al, or TiAl when at least one of the gate structures 330 a and 300 b is a portion of an NMOS device. The first and second work function metal layers 330 and 330 may be deposited by, for example, CVD, plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD), sputtering, ion beam, spin on, physical vapor deposition (PVD), ALD or the like.

Attention is now invited to FIGS. 10-13. The second work function metal layer 340 is pulled back in two stages (operation 117 of FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 10, a mask layer 345 is deposited on the substrate 301. In some embodiments, the mask layer 345 is, for example, a bottom anti-reflective coating (BARC) layer. The mask layer 345 fills in the recesses 312 a and 312 b and covers up the entire second work function meta layer 340 on the top surfaces of the spacers 320 a and 320 b and the ILD layer 319.

Next, please refer to FIG. 11. A first etching, for example, dry etching, is performed to pattern the mask layer 345. The patterned mask layers 345 a and 345 b retreats into the recesses 312 a and 312 b respectively. A surface level of the mask layers 345 a and 345 b is within the recesses 312 a and 312 b.

Attention is now invited to FIG. 12. After the first etching, in which the mask layer 345 is patterned to form the mask layers 345 a and 345 b, a second etching is performed. The second etching, for example, wet etching, targets at the second work function metal layer 340. During the second etching, the patterned mask layers 345 a and 345 b protect the underlying second work function metal layer 340 in the recesses 312 a and 312 b. After the second etching, the second work function metal layers 340 a and 340 b are lowered respectively into the recesses 312 a and 312 b, and top edges of the second work function metal layers 340 a and 340 b are modified along the course of the second etching to form slanting edges 342 a and 342 b. In some embodiments, the first work function metal layer 330 and the second work function metal layer 340 are made of different materials. The first work function metal layer 330 is made of a material that has an etch selectivity against the second work function metal layer 340 during the second etching.

Attention is now invited to FIG. 13. The pull-back process targets at the second work function metal layer 340, while the first work function metal layer 330 retains its integrity at this stage because of etch selectivity. The patterned mask layers 345 a and 345 b are then removed from the wafer 300. The slanting edges 342 a and 342 b have a slope descending inwardly toward the respective recesses 312 a and 312 b (away from the spacers 320 a and 320 b). The slope of the tapered, slanting edges 342 a and 342 b ranges from about 15 to about 45 degrees. In some embodiments, the slanting edges 342 a and 342 b are rounded corners.

Turning now to FIG. 14. A third work function metal layer 350 is deposited on the wafer 300, and then a portion of the third work function metal layer 350 in the gate structure 300 a is removed. In some embodiments, the gate structure 300 a and the gate structure 300 b are used to form transistors with different threshold voltages or transistors of different types, and, therefore, the gate structure 300 a and the gate structure 300 b have different numbers of work function metal layers. In some embodiments, the gate structure 300 a does not include the third work function metal layer 350, while the gate structure 300 b includes the third work function metal layer 350. In some embodiments, the gate structure 300 a is a p-type gate electrode, and the gate structure 300 b is an n-type gate electrode. A designed threshold voltage for n-type and p-type devices can be tuned through different combination of work function metal layers. Different patterns arise between the gate structures 300 a and 300 b because of different numbers or combination of work function metal layers so as to achieve desired threshold voltage. The third work function metal layer 350 conforms to the padded recess 312 b, where the first work function metal layer 330 and the second work function metal layer 340 b line the bottom surface and the sidewalls of the recess 312 b. The third work function metal layer 350 overtakes the slanting edges 342 b of the second work function metal layer 340 b in the recess 312 b, and therefore both the second and third work function metal layers 340 b and 350 are in contact with the first work function metal layer 330. In addition, because the second work function metal layer 340 b is modified at the edges, the third work function metal layer 350 follows the inverted, stepped, pyramid topology in the recess 312 b.

Turning now to FIG. 15, the third work function metal layer 350 is pulled back to yield slanting edges 352. Similar to the second work function metal layers 340 a and 340 b, the third work function metal layer 350 undergoes a series of etching. A mask layer is deposited, and the first etching defines a patterned mask layer over the third work function metal layer 350 in the recess 312 b. Subsequently, the second etching results in the receding of the third work function metal layer 350 within the recess 312 b and formation of slanting edges 352. The third work function metal layer 350 covers up the underlying second work function metal layer 340 b. After the second etching, the third work function metal layer 350 contributes another level to the slanting sidewalls of the recess 312 b. The slanting edges 342 b are translated into the third work function metal layer 350. Likewise, the pull-back process targets at specific work function metal layer because of etch selectivity, and the first work function metal layer 330 retains its integrity throughout the second and third work function metal layer pull-back.

Turning now to FIG. 16, a filling metal 360 is deposited over the wafer 300 (operation 119 of FIG. 1). The filling metal 360 fills in the remaining portion of the recesses 312 a and 312 b and overfills the recesses 312 a and 312 b to cover up the first work function meta layer 330 on the top surfaces of the spacers 320 a and 320 b and the ILD layer 319. A material of the filling metal 360 may include, for example, tungsten (W). The gate structures 300 a and 300 b have different patterns results from different numbers of work function metal layers. As shown in FIG. 16, after the deposition of filling metal 360, the different contour of the recesses 312 a and 312 b is more pronounced. In the gate structure 300 a, a portion of the filling metal 360 is enclosed by the second work function metal layer 340 a, while the remaining portion of the filling metal 360 is in contact with the first work function metal layer 330. In the gate structure 300 b, the filling metal 360 overfills the recess 312 b and blankets the first work function metal layer 330 and the third work function metal layer 350. The filling metal 360 in the recess 312 b is not in direct contact with the second work function metal layer 340 b because the second work function metal layer 340 b underlies the third work function metal layer 350 and is unexposed. The second work function metal layer 340 b still contributes to the topology of the stepped recess 312 b and serves its intended function, voltage manipulation. The tripled work function metal layers 330, 340 b, and 350 collectively create tapered sidewalls in the recess 312 b with an additional level in comparison with the doubled work function metal layers 330 and 340 a in the recess 312 a.

Attention is now invited to FIG. 17. An etching back is performed to bring down the filling metal 360 and the first work function metal layer 330 within the recesses 312 a and 312 b (operation 121 of FIG. 1). A universal etching back does not take different patterns in gate structures into consideration. When only filling metal 360 and the first work function metal layers 330 are the targets in the etching back process, variation between the gate structures is minimized.

Still referring to FIG. 17, the filling metal 360 a is lowered to a level within the recesses 312 a and 312 b respectively, and the first work function metal layer 330 over the inter-level dielectric layer 319 is removed. The etching back continues until the first work function metal layers 330 a and 330 b retreat into the recess 312 a and 312 b. Slanting edges 332 a and 332 b of the first work function metal layers 330 a and 330 b respectively are formed during the etching back. The filling metals 360 a and 360 b reach to the brim of the first work function metal layers 330 a and 330 b in the recesses 312 a and 312 b. As a result, the filling metals 360 a and 360 b have surface areas that are both defined by the first work function metal layers 330 a and 330 b. In the universal etching back, only the first work function metal layers 330 and the filling metal 360 are removed. Because the second and the third work function metal layers 340 a, 340 b, and 350 are buried underneath in the recesses 312 a and 312 b respectively. When performing the etching back, the loading pattern arising from different numbers of work function metal layers can be omitted.

Turning now to FIGS. 20 and 21, illustrated zoom in view of the gate structures 300 a and 300 b. When the universal etching back is performed to lower the surface level of the filling metal 360, the filling metals 360 a and 360 b are brought to the same level within their respective recesses 312 a and 312 b. Portions of the first work function metal layers 330 are removed in the etching back, while the second and third work function metal layers 340 a and 350 retain their configuration and are unexposed. A lower portion of the filling metals 360 a and 360 b are in contact with the second work function metal layer 340 a or the third work function metal layer 350. The work function metal layers 330 a, 330 b, 340 a, 340 b, and 350 serve their intended function, while the work function metal layers 340 a, 340 b, and 350 is sealed behind the filling metals 360 a and 360 b. Since the second and third work function metal layers 340 a, 340 b, and 350 are buried under the filling metals 360 a and 360 b, even if the loading patterns (i.e., numbers of work function metal layers) in the gate structures 300 a and 300 b are different, the topology from a top view is similar.

As shown in FIG. 20, the first and second work function metal layers 330 a and 340 a create tapered sidewalls in the recesses 312 a. The filling metal 360 a fills in the recess 312 a and resembles a two-level inverted pyramid. The first work function metal layer 330 a defines a first width W₁ that is measured from one slanting edge 332 to the other slanting edge 332. The second work function metal layer 340 a defines a second width W₂ that is measured from one slanting edges 342 a to the other slanting edge 342 a. The filling metal 360 a fills in the tapered recess 312 a, and a first portion 361 a of the filling metal 360 a is between the semiconductor substrate 301 and a second portion 362 a of the filling metal 360 a. The first portion 361 a of the filling metal 360 a has the second width W₂, and a second portion 362 a of the filling metal 360 a has the first width W₁. The filling metal 360 a fans out from the bottom surface of the recess 312 a because the second work function metal layer 340 a is buried underneath. The broader first width W₁ is retained for the filling metal 360 a, and the second work function metal layer 340 a along with its narrower second width W₂ is unexposed.

Likewise, as shown in FIG. 21, in addition to the first and second width W₁ and W₂ which are defined by the first and second work function metal layers 330 b and 340 b respectively, the third work function metal layer 350 defines a third width W₃ that is measured from one slanting edges 352 to the other slanting edge 352. The third width W₃ is the narrowest among the three widths because the third work function metal layer 350 is further compressed within the space left out by the second work function metal layer 340 b. The filling metal 360 b fills in the tapered recess 312 b, and from the bottom to the top are the first portion 361 b, the second portion 362 b and a third portion 363 b. The third portion 363 b of the filling metal 360 b has the broadest first width W₁. The filling metal 360 a fans out from the bottom surface of the recess 312 b because the second and the third work function metal layers 340 b and 350 are buried under the filling metal 360 b. The broader third portion 363 b of the filling metal, which has the first width W₁, is retained, and the narrower first and second portions 361 b and 362 b of the filling metal 360 b are buried underneath.

In practical, on top of the width of each of the work function metal layers, the work function metal layers have varied slopes along the sidewalls of the recess. In the recess 312 a shown in FIG. 20, the first work function metal layer 330 a has a milder slope in comparison with the second work function metal layer 340 a. The second work function metal layer 340 a has a nearly vertical slope at the bottom of the recess 312 a. The first portion 361 a of the filling metal 360 a, which fills in the bottom portion of the recess 312 a, has a steeper slope than the second portion 362 a thereof. As shown in FIG. 21, the third work function metal layer 350 adds another level to the tapered sidewalls of the recess 312 b, and the slopes from the top to the bottom surface of the recess 312 b increases gradually. The first portion 361 b of the filling metal 360 b has a nearly vertical slope at the bottom of the recess 312 b, and when it comes to the second portion 362 b of the filling metal 360 b, the slope becomes milder. The third portion 363 b of the filling metal 360 b, which is at the top portion of the recess 312 b, has the least steep slope in the recess 312 b.

Still referring to FIGS. 20 and 21, regardless the element arrangement within the recesses 312 a and 312 b, a top view of the gate structures 300 a and 300 b is similar with only the filling metals 360 a and 360 b and the first work function metal layer 330 a and 330 b to be found. More than similar exposed elements in different gate structures, the configuration form the top view is uniform as well. The filling metals 360 a and 360 b have the same width which is defined by the lip portion of the first work function metal layers 330 a and 330 b respectively. The uniform topology of the gate structures 300 a and 300 b from the top view have advantageous effects to the subsequent process.

Turning now to FIG. 18, a protection layer 370, for example, a nitride layer, fills in the remaining of the recesses 312 a and 312 b. The protection layer 370 serves to protect the underlying components like the work function metal layers. In either the recess 312 a or the recess 312 b, the protection layer 370 is held at the same level. In addition, the underlying element arrangement is uniform. The protection layer 370 is in contact with the slanting edges 332 a and 332 b of the first work function metal layer 330 a and 330 b and the filling metals 360 a and 360 b. The slanting edges 332 a and 332 b of the first work function metal layer 330 a and 330 b are at the same height, and the filling metals 360 a and 360 b have the same surface area and dimension from a top view.

Turning now to FIG. 19, a polishing process, for example, CMP is performed, and the gate structures 300 a and 300 b are lowered to a level near to the slanting edges 332 a and 332 b of the first work function metal layers 330 a and 330 b. Due to the same topology within the recesses 312 a and 312 b, the position of the slanting edges 332 a and 332 b are taken into consideration. That is, regardless the number of work function metal layers, the protection layer 370 polishing is universally applied to the gate structures 300 a and 300 b with the same parameters because the interface topology between the protection layer 370 and in each of the gate structures 300 a and 300 b are similar, and the interface are located at the same level. In this case, edges of the work function metal layers are less likely to go through the protection layers 370 a and 370 b in the polishing process.

The protection layers 370 a and 370 b prevent aggressive invasion, for example, chemical agent like acid in the following etching process. In the case when defects are formed in the protection layer, foreign material can cause metal gate missing or compromising the function of other components. By having the same topology even with different loading patterns, when polishing the protection layer, attention is paid to the first work function metal layer and the filling metal without worrying the underlying work function metal layers in different gate structures.

Turning now to FIG. 22, a gate structure 300 c is shown with four-layer of work function metal layers. The gate structure 300 c includes the first, second, third work function metal layers 330 c, 340 c, and 350 c. In addition, the gate structure 300 c includes a fourth work function metal layer 380 formed over the third work function metal layer 350 c. Compared to the gate structure 300 b, the gate structure 300 c goes through one more work function metal layer pull-back in the process. The fourth work function metal layer 380 blankets the third work function metal layer 350 c within the recess 312 c, and the slanting edges 342 c and 352 c are translated into the fourth work function metal layer 380. The sidewalls of the recess 312 c show a four-level inverted pyramid with gradually reduced slope from the bottom to the top. The filling metal 360 c still has the same surface area and topology with the filling metals 360 a and 360 b even if the number of work function metal layers increases to four.

Apart from the first work function metal layers, the remaining work function metal layers are buried under the filling metal. Etching back of the first work function metal layer and the filling metal will be much easier because other than the first work function metal layer the remaining work function metal layers are not etched during the etching back. The resulting configuration gives similar topology from a top view among different gate structures.

In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, a gate structure includes at least one spacer defining a gate region over a semiconductor substrate, a gate dielectric layer disposed on the gate region over the semiconductor substrate, a first work function metal layer disposed over the gate dielectric layer and lining a bottom surface of an inner sidewall of the spacer, and a filling metal partially wrapped by the first work function metal layer. The filling metal includes a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion is between the second portion and the substrate, and the second portion is wider than the first portion.

In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, a gate structure includes at least one spacer defining a gate region over a substrate, a gate dielectric layer disposed on the gate region over the substrate, a first work function metal layer disposed over the gate dielectric layer and lining portions of an inner sidewall of the spacer. The first work function metal layer has at least on slanting edge. The gate structure also includes a filling metal partially wrapped by the first work function metal layer. The slanting edge of the first work function metal layer is buried under the filling metal.

In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, a method includes forming at least one dummy gate stack including a gate dielectric layer and a dummy gate material layer overlying the gate dielectric layer. An inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer is formed around the dummy gate stack. At least the dummy gate material layer is removed from the dummy gate stack to form at least one recess. At least one work function metal layer is formed on a bottom surface and at least one sidewall of the recess. A first portion of the work function metal layer is removed from the sidewall of the recess. A second portion of the work function metal layer remains on the sidewall of the recess after the removing. Then, a remaining portion of the recess is filled with a filling metal.

The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that those skilled in the art may better understand the aspects of the instant disclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the instant disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the instant disclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions, and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the instant disclosure. 

1. A gate structure, comprising: a first dielectric element; a second dielectric element; and a filling metal disposed between the first dielectric element and the second dielectric element, wherein: in a first portion of the filling metal, a width of the filling metal decreases at a first rate moving toward a bottom surface of the filling metal, in a second portion of the filling metal, the width of the filling metal decreases at a second rate moving toward the bottom surface of the filling metal, the second rate is less than the first rate, and the second portion of the filling metal is under the first portion of the filling metal.
 2. The gate structure of claim 1, wherein: in a third portion of the filling metal, the width of the filling metal decreases at a third rate moving toward the bottom surface of the filling metal, the third rate is less than the second rate, and the third portion of the filling metal is under the second portion of the filling metal.
 3. The gate structure of claim 1, comprising: a protection layer extending between the first dielectric element and the second dielectric element and overlying the filling metal.
 4. The gate structure of claim 1, comprising: a first work function metal layer disposed between the first dielectric element and the filling metal to separate the first dielectric element from the filling metal.
 5. The gate structure of claim 4, comprising: a protection layer overlying the filling metal, wherein the protection layer is in contact with a sidewall of the first dielectric element and a top surface of the first work function metal layer.
 6. The gate structure of claim 4, comprising: a second work function metal layer disposed between the first work function metal layer and the filling metal, wherein: the first portion of the filling metal is in contact with the first work function metal layer, and the second portion of the filling metal is in contact with the second work function metal layer.
 7. The gate structure of claim 1, comprising: a first work function metal layer disposed between the first dielectric element and the filling metal; a second work function metal layer disposed between the first work function metal layer and the filling metal; and a third work function metal layer disposed between the second work function metal layer and the filling metal.
 8. The gate structure of claim 7, wherein the filling metal contacts the first work function metal layer.
 9. The gate structure of claim 7, comprising a protection layer spaced apart from the third work function metal layer by the filling metal.
 10. The gate structure of claim 9, wherein the protection layer contacts the first work function metal layer.
 11. A gate structure, comprising: a first dielectric element; a second dielectric element; a filling metal disposed between the first dielectric element and the second dielectric element; a first work function metal layer disposed between the first dielectric element and the filling metal; and a second work function metal layer, wherein: the first work function metal layer is present between a first portion of the second work function metal layer and the first dielectric element, and the first work function metal layer is not present between a second portion of the second work function metal layer and the first dielectric element.
 12. The gate structure of claim 11, wherein the second portion of the second work function metal layer is above the first portion of the second work function metal layer.
 13. The gate structure of claim 11, wherein the second work function metal layer is between an uppermost surface of the first work function metal layer and the filling metal.
 14. The gate structure of claim 11, comprising: a third work function metal layer between the first dielectric element and the first work function metal layer.
 15. The gate structure of claim 14, wherein the second work function metal layer contacts the third work function metal layer.
 16. The gate structure of claim 11, comprising a protection layer overlying the filling metal and disposed between the first dielectric element and the second dielectric element.
 17. A method of forming a gate structure, the method comprising: forming a first work function metal layer in a recess; forming a second work function metal layer in the recess over the first work function metal layer; removing a first portion of the second work function metal layer; and forming a filling metal in the recess after removing the first portion of the second work function metal layer, wherein an uppermost surface of the first work function metal layer is above an uppermost surface of the filling metal.
 18. The method of claim 17, comprising: forming a protection layer in the recess over the filling metal, wherein the protection layer contacts the first work function metal layer.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein forming the filling metal comprises forming the filling metal to overlie an uppermost surface of the second work function metal layer remaining after removing the first portion of the second work function metal layer.
 20. The method of claim 17, comprising forming a third work function metal layer in the recess after removing the first portion of the second work function metal layer and before forming the filling metal. 